Campaign of the Month:
June 2012

Crimson Skies

74: The Festival

Tidying Up and Getting Messy

Kumori was not in good humor when the boy’s parents labelled us the villains. He restrained himself, but barely, and while the recognition of the average townsfolk of his noble actions and heroism are minor balm, I fear failure is wearing on him, and hopefully our journeys will bring us fewer foes who can cast spells and more bands of thugs to deal with… I certainly wouldn’t mind some ogres or orcs to face.

We caught up with Dusky, who had apparently been of a mind to join us, but didn’t know that the police presence would keep us separate from her message to that effect. She was with Smriti and Iz, finally returned from the lamp; we met at the residence of the nobility so Kumori was treated to a drink to soothe his troubled soul.
Speaking of trouble, he and I are in agreement with Ian about the quality of a gem that another friend values quite absurdly. None of the party, either male or female, is eager to speak of it to her, knowing that would only further strengthen the absurdity, and there’s nothing we can do but prepare for the blow.

Speaking of blows, Tinel has called Ignatius to aid us but separate from our party, and put him on a path parallel from ours. We head after the Lucky Dragon for more information, and he is guided to one of the six relics it seeks by Tinel. We may see him again, but it is too soon to know how frequently.

We found some scrolls for Ian, including Cat’s Grace, and he is eager to make for Smriti a belt so she hits more often and is harder to hit. It’s not easy – we found a wizard’s tower that was for rent… well, the cellar bit at least, and Smriti found a merchant who suited her style. The smell of the goop that Ian is concocting isn’t that easy to stomach, so Iz and Kumori are wandering around, with Kumori trying to train the district he has found us work from during the festival so the people who hired us learn tactics and honor – as in all things, he holds himself and his companions to a high standard, and so I have carefully hidden all the plans I have to disable our opponents carts so the axles wobble and fail when empty. Smriti and I are better with a melon than most, but if there is to be cheating, let it not involve anything so vile as paint.

That cheat is an interesting one – some use paint to fill the moon melons that are tossed, but it’s a minor infraction to use such a tactic, so there are those who use it and do not get caught, and there are others who sneak such melons into an opposing district’s stores and try to disqualify them. I’ve taken to guarding the stores for our district, leaving me little time to socialize and seek any personal items. Perhaps before we go I will seek out some wondrous items and sell off our goods.

We have goods worth:

2335
1300
330
170
2500
1000
200
55

That’s 3945 in profit if we sell it all – which combined with 9845 in coins and gem and 1612 in Pthyan coins is 15402.

We’ve also recently given about 4000 in treasure to all but me, with the actual outlay being:

2000 (but close to 4000 market value) to Smriti
4000+ in armor to Iz
4000+ in armor to Kumori
6000 in other gear to Kumori
4000+ to Ian
~1800 for the hat of disguise I now wear

I think I and then Smriti are next for items to acquire, but I don’t know what I want exactly and she’s not much for material things it seems. I wish I had a list of what she wanted – it would be easier to keep her in mind when we go to market.

I have such a list, and I am torn between spending ~2400 on a magical hand crossbow to replace one I’ve carried for a long time, or working with Ian to make a stone the next time we have a week to rest and craft items. I could certainly justify buying the stone, but Ian really wants to feel like he is contributing, and he does – he mentioned he’d look at acquiring a Remove Curse spell since it was likely Ignatius wouldn’t be back soon. I told him that’s a good idea but hopefully when he grows in power he’ll grow in lethality and our foes will never get close to us to curse us. Ian wants to be everything he can, though, and I certainly appreciate his eager to help attitude.

Ultimately, it is Kumori and his dynamic personality that moves us forward, and I sit in the crow’s nest, watching for danger, while Ian’s eager to help attitude and Smriti’s protective friendship keep the wind in the sails. Even Iz plays a part in the odd crew, though it’s tough to explain, and I have even put her lower in my prayers than she’s been in a long time.